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The city of Dallas is considering selling an old hospital site it bought to house the homeless for $6.5 million at a loss after community pushback.
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The city purchased the former hospital at 2929 South Hampton Road in 2022 with bond money restricted to housing the unsheltered.
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The purchase was made before getting any community feedback.
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One council member proposed selling the property at a loss to fund another city homeless housing project that remains incomplete.
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The city of Dallas is considering selling an old hospital site it bought to house the homeless for $6.5 million at a loss after community pushback.
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The city purchased the former hospital at 2929 South Hampton Road in 2022 with bond money restricted to housing the unsheltered.
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The purchase was made before getting any community feedback.
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One council member proposed selling the property at a loss to fund another city homeless housing project that remains incomplete.
DallasThe city of Dallas may now think about selling the former hospital it purchased with intentions to convert it into long-term homeless housing in response to community opposition.
“I suggested we sell this property in January,” Dallas City Councilwoman Zarin Gracey stated. “Wish we had come to this conclusion sooner.”
Without knowing if the community would support its intentions, the city of Dallas paid $6.5 million.
Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn stated, “This is not what the community wants.” “At some point, we have to ask city hall, Do we serve our communities?”
In 2022, the city acquired the former hospital located at 2929 South Hampton Road.
The funds came from a voter-approved bond called Proposition J. Housing for the unsheltered is the exclusive use of the bond funds.
Following the purchase of the land, the city convened community forums to discuss the homeless housing idea.
The plan was disliked by the community. The city is currently thinking about selling the former hospital.
Mendelsohn remarked, “It’s not the right property in the right place,” “I am in favor of selling it. Additionally, I am in favor of allocating funds to complete incomplete projects.
Investing the proceeds from the sale in a different project, such as the one on Independence Drive in the Red Bird neighborhood close to the Duncanville boundary, is one possibility.
“We literally kicked out people and made them homeless to create housing for people who are homeless, and nobody lives there,” stated Mendelsohn. It is utterly startling. We are in year 2.5, about in year 3. Please complete that project using that funding.
For $4.9 million, the old TownHouse Suites property was acquired. Although it is far from ready, it was also intended to house the homeless. According to city employees, it is 103 units.
Gay Donnell Willis, a council member, voiced worries that the city might have to sell the former hospital site at a loss.
“I worry about the faith taxpayers will have in future years about purchasing a property and having fits and starts and selling it at a loss,” she stated.
“The main query is: Did we overspend on this property? In actuality, I believe that is the reason we are still here,” Mendelsohn remarked. “I believe we may have overpaid, but the council and employees who supported it don’t want to acknowledge it. We’ll just have to admit that something went wrong.
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The Dallas City Council meeting on Tuesday and earlier FOX 4 stories provided the information for this piece.
The Dallas City Council meeting on Tuesday and earlier FOX 4 stories provided the information for this piece.
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